[Conferences] Trademark policy for "PyCon" conferences

Tue Jun 3 16:59:33 CEST 2014

On 3 June 2014 12:40, John Pinner <funthyme at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Nelle,
>
> On 2 June 2014 21:43, Nelle Varoquaux <nelle.varoquaux at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hello,
> > I understand the necessity of protecting the name "Pycon" and "python",
> but
> > being involved in several organization committees of conferences on
> python
> > or scientific python, I'll just comment on the following:
> >
> > "It is the policy of the Python Software Foundation to allow the use
> > of "PyCon" for conferences that focus on Python the programming
> > language, have adopted a code of conduct compatible with that of the
> > PSF, and allow anyone to attend the conference subject to a
> > reasonable conference fee."
> >
> > There are cultures and countries where the concept of a code of conduct
> is
> > not at all welcomed. We discussed about this for EuroScipy (happening in
> the
> > UK this year, but with organizers from all around Europe: France,
> Belgium,
> > Italy, Germany, etc), and we decided not to have one.
>
> I think that this is a mistake.
>
> > I think this is the
> > type of statement that are "normal" in north america, but less so in many
> > European countries, one of the reason being that what is stated in the
> code
> > of conduct is just considered normal behavior.
>
> Agreed, but there are exceptions to normality. It may be tempting to
> regard the North American model as hysterical, and that in Europe we
> may be more mature, but this is arrogant...
>

The problem comes from the statement. Not the behavior. Put a statement
like that in a company in France, and you'd be sure to have more
(mostly friendly) inappropriate jokes than ever (as we say, «rules are
meant
to be broken», specially those that seem strange and not justified…).

> If you think that you have no problems in respect of a CoC, then you
> may be correct, but it is more likely that you may have problems which
> you do not know about, and having a CoC will provide a framework
> within which any perceived misconduct can be reported and dealt with.
>

At PyCon UK, we have had a CoC for the past two years, it was the
> subject of much discussion before we produced a version we agreed was
> suited to European needs (yes, the UK is in Europe ;-).

In the second year, we were surprised to discover that we did indeed
> have a problem, having a CoC meant that it was raised and dealt with.

It is also extremely hard to find :)
(and we should discuss the UK being part of Europe :p)

In any case, I don't believe a statement on a website makes me feel any
safer. I think it is sad to see people assume that conferences that don't
have a CoC are not safe or friendly, without any inquiry.
Around me, there is no need to remind people that sexist, racist and other
exclusionary jokes can be offensive. Not only do I find slightly offensive
that people think they have the need to remind me that, but I also don't
really want to be part of a community that needs to be reminded that people
should behave properly.

Thanks,
Nelle

PS: Both AFPy and PyconFR have code of conducts, so we are not concerned
about this new rule. I just wanted to express my opinion as part of a
minority.

> Best wishes,
>
> John
> --
>
> >
> > Cheers,
> > N
> >
> >
> >
> > On 2 June 2014 19:34, M.-A. Lemburg <mal at python.org> wrote:
> >>
> >> Dear conference organizers,
> >>
> >> the PSF board has recently discussed and voted on a new trademark
> >> policy for the term "PyCon". Our main intent is to protect the
> >> name from unwanted third party use for the benefit of the Python
> >> community. We simply don't want to run into another python.co.uk
> >> trademark situation:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://pyfound.blogspot.de/2013/02/python-trademark-at-risk-in-europe-we.html
> >>
> >> We have not yet put this up on the website, but since the question
> >> has come up, I'd like to share it with you via email as upfront info:
> >>
> >> """
> >>
> >> "PyCon" Trademark Policy
> >> ------------------------
> >>
> >> In order to protect the term "PyCon" against unwanted or misleading
> >> use by third parties, the PSF claims the term “PyCon” as a trademark
> >> worldwide for conference activities. The PSF is additionally pursuing
> >> registration of the mark in various jurisdictions.
> >>
> >> It is the policy of the Python Software Foundation to allow the use
> >> of "PyCon" for conferences that focus on Python the programming
> >> language, have adopted a code of conduct compatible with that of the
> >> PSF, and allow anyone to attend the conference subject to a
> >> reasonable conference fee. Use of the trademark is subject to
> >> approval by the PSF trademarks committee (write to
> >> psf-trademarks at python.org).
> >>
> >> The PSF may update this policy from time to time. Updates will be
> >> published and announced by the PSF.
> >>
> >>
> >> PyCon Conferences Around the World
> >> -----------------------------------
> >>
> >> PyCon conferences are community-led and community-focused gatherings
> >> of Python programmers around the world. Want to start a PyCon in your
> >> own country? Contact us! We want to help.
> >>
> >> The following are authorized PyCon community conferences:
> >>
> >>     "Kiwi PyCon", "PyCon NZ" in New Zealand
> >>     "PyCon Asia Pacific", "PyCon APAC" in Asia
> >>     "PyCon AR", "PyCon Argentina" in Argentina
> >>     "PyCon AU", "PyCon Australia"  in Australia
> >>     "PyCon CA", "PyCon Canada" in Canada
> >>     "PyCon CH", "PyCon China" in China
> >>     "PyCon DE" in Germany
> >>     "PyCon ES", "PyCon España", "PyCon Spain" in Spain
> >>     "PyCon FI", "PyCon Finland" in Finland
> >>     "PyCon FR", "PyCon France" in France
> >>     "PyCon IN", "PyCon India" in India
> >>     "PyCon IR", "PyCon Iran" in Iran
> >>     "PyCon IE", "PyCon Ireland" in Ireland
> >>     "PyCon IT", "PyCon Italia" in Italy
> >>     "PyCon JP", "PyCon Japan" in Japan
> >>     "PyCon MY", "PyCon Malaysia" in Malaysia
> >>     "PyCon PH", "PyCon Philippines" in the Philippines
> >>     "PyCon PL", "PyCon Poland" in Poland
> >>     "PyCon RU", "PyCon Russia" in Russia
> >>     "PyCon SG", "PyCon Singapore" in Singapore
> >>     "PyCon SE", "PyCon Sweden" in Sweden
> >>     "PyCon TW", "PyCon Taiwan" in Taiwan
> >>     "PyCon UK" in the United Kingdom
> >>     "UA PyCon", "PyCon Ukraine", "PyCon UA" in Ukraine
> >>     “PyCon US” in the United States
> >>     "PyCon UY", "PyCon Uruguay" in Uruguay
> >>     "PyCon VE", "PyCon Venezuela" in Venezuela
> >>     "PyCon ZA", "PyCon South Africa" in South Africa
> >>
> >> If we have forgotten a national or regional PyCon conference
> >> in this list or have used the wrong naming, please write to
> >> the PSF trademark committee for approval.
> >>
> >> It is also possible to use a pycon.org sub-domain as home
> >> for the conference. Please write to webmaster at pycon.org to
> >> request a sub-domain.
> >>
> >> """
> >>
> >> As you can see, we have tried to grandfather all existing
> >> PyCon conferences that we could find and are aware of into
> >> the resolution.
> >>
> >> If you have questions, please let me know.
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >> --
> >> Marc-Andre Lemburg
> >> Director
> >> Python Software Foundation
> >> http://www.python.org/psf/
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/conferences
> >>
> >> This is an open list with open archives; sensitive or confidential
> >> information should not be discussed here.
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Python Conferences mailing list: Conferences at python.org
> > https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/conferences
> >
> > This is an open list with open archives; sensitive or confidential
> > information should not be discussed here.
>
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